Slowmarket at Kelkiewyn 12 May 2012

History

and Background Info

Welcome to Villiersdorp Cellar, the home of Slowine and Villiersdorp Cellar wines.

Villiersdorp Cellar is situated in the little Overberg town of Villiersdorp in the picturesque Theewaterskloof Valley, about 100 km from Cape Town. Some people call it the “valley of splendour”. It is part of the newly established Theewaterskloof wine ward in the Overberg region.

“Villiersdorp Moskonfyt en Vrugtekoöperasie Beperk” was inaugurated on 28 January 1922 with the main purpose to produce “moskonfyt” (grape must jam). This makes Villiersdorp Cellar one of the oldest producer cellars in South Africa.

In the early days the emphasis was mainly to produce “moskonfyt” and grape juice concentrate but the very promising quality potential of the cool area famous for apple production, attracted the producers to plant table wine cultivars. With the building of the Theewaterskloof dam in the early eighties vine grape production took off as water became available for irrigation. The focus has thus changed over the last two decades to produce table wine of exceptional good quality. The cellar therefore invested a lot of energy and capital to bring about the good wines that the consumers can experience today by drinking one of its branded bottle products.

A comprehensive viticulture service is offered to the producers in conjunction with Vinpro to ensure that optimal quality grapes are taken in to feed the different brands. A recent addition to the viticulture function is the procurement of a charting system whereby topographic and climatologic information are made available to the producers to help with planting decisions as well as optimal terroir utilisation.

The newest endeavour of the cellar was to become independent away from Villiersdorp Co-op and therefore a separate private company was formed by the wine grape producers. Previously the cellar was part of Villiersdorp Co-op but now the co-op only owns a minority share in the newly established company. A marketing function was implemented simultaneously and focuses on bottle wine sales on a national basis as well as internationally.

Vision

Our vision is to be a profitable cellar who adds long term sustainable value to all our stakeholders by producing wine of exceptional good quality in harmony with our environment.

Core Values

Honesty and integrity
Communication focus
Quality orientated
Producers, clients and personnel are our most important assets
Creating a culture of continuous improvement
Equal opportunities for all

BWI Compliant

Villiersdorp Cellar was one of the first producer cellars to achieve BWI accreditation. Our members conserve substantial portions of their farms for future generations, where the promise is that no vineyards will be planted on these areas where Cape fynbos are protected. The alien clearing program includes the cleaning of river banks from black wattle. We are also proud to be a contributor to Cape Nature with our Japanese agent to protect the Geometric Tortoise from extinction. A portion of every bottle sold in Japan goes to Cape Nature for conserving the tortoise that is also the emblem on our Slowine bottle. The cellar is also a member of the Green Mountain Eco Route - the world’s first biodiversity wine route. Visit www.greenmountain.co.za for more information.